Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride)

[mariba]

That's the most ridiculous storyline I've heard for a long time! Why would Deirdre's ghost appear to Steve and Michelle anyway?? They were not that close and Deidre never owned the pub or anything..It would be more fitting-and really beautiful-if she appeared to Ken..or Tracy. Don't understand this at all..

[Dazzle]

Why would Deirdre's ghost appear to Steve and Michelle anyway??

That was exactly my thought when I read it. Bizarre!

[Perdita]

Because they are talking about her when she does, I suppose they come back from honeymoon to hear the sad news, normal to discuss it as Deirdre was Liz's best friend. But it would have made more sense if the ghost had appeared when Ken and Tracy or Amy discuss her ..

[mariba]

Or to Norris as Amy was scaring him with Blanche!

[tammyy2j]

Because they are talking about her when she does, I suppose they come back from honeymoon to hear the sad news, normal to discuss it as Deirdre was Liz's best friend. But it would have made more sense if the ghost had appeared when Ken and Tracy or Amy discuss her ..

Or even Liz and Eileen, her good friends

[Perdita]

Coronation Street bosses build a graveyard from scratch to film Deirdre Barlow's upcoming funeral
Coronation Street has built a whole graveyard from scratch in order to film the funeral of Deirdre Barlow.
A large security team will be in place for a total of four days throughout production - but fans won't be able to visit the graveyard as it won't exist in future.
The set includes authentic-looking headstones and the use of professional gravediggers at Arley Hall stately home in Cheshire, where shooting will take place.
Deirdre's departure will be addressed in scenes airing later this month when her on-screen husband Ken (William Roache) will be told that she has died of a suspected brain aneurysm.
The funeral comes following the death of actress Anne Kirkbride, who played Deirdre for 40 years, in January following a battle with cancer - her final scenes were aired in October.
Roache, 83, discussed filming the funeral of Anne's character Deirdre in an interview with Good Morning Britain on Friday.
He said: 'It is a family and doing the funeral that we're doing of Deirdre next week, Annie will be there, we're just feeling her there the whole time,' he told the show's hosts.
'I had a scene as Ken where I’m given Deirdre’s glasses, but of course Annie wore them for 30 years. So you certainly don’t need any motivation for the acting.
Adding: 'We’re always on the verge [of tears].'
The cast of Coronation Street held a memorial service for Anne at Manchester cathedral on Saturday, with her co-star William reading a poem out.
He also told GMB: 'I used to call her a love bomb because she exploded with love so she was a love bomb. She liked that.'
Anne previously took a break from the soap after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1993.

[Perdita]

Ken and Audrey excitedly get everything ready for Deirdre's 60th Birthday party. But are devastated when Bev arrives to break the news that Deirdre has died. Ken, Tracy and Audrey can only look at her in stunned silence as Bev explains how she passed away.
In the Rovers, everyone's stunned by the tragic news, as they raise their glasses in a toast to Deirdre.

[swmc66]

loved how Deirdre helped with the Quiz before she dies

[sarah c]

loved how Deirdre helped with the Quiz before she dies

and was very obvious which were her questions and which were Ken's

[Perdita]

Deirdre's funeral will have humour, says scriptwriter Damon Rochefort
Coronation Street's team were left with the sad task of writing out a soap legend this year as Anne Kirkbride passed away after 42 years in the role of Deirdre Barlow.
Next week's episodes see Deirdre's husband Ken (Bill Roache) receive the terrible news that she has died suddenly, building up to an on-screen funeral for the iconic character which airs in a fortnight's time.
Here, Coronation Street scriptwriter Damon Rochefort - who penned the funeral episodes - offers a behind-the-scenes insight into the emotional scenes to come.
Even if you've never seen a single episode of Coronation Street, a pound to a penny says you've probably heard of Deirdre Barlow. So to the millions of fans who have followed the character through her 42 dramatic years on the show, the death of actress Annie Kirkbride earlier this year was shocking and tragic.
So when I was asked to write Deirdre's funeral episodes some months ago, I was touched and flattered, of course, but well aware of the level of anticipation from the show's fans that the character had the send-off she deserved.
Being a lifelong fan of the show myself, even if I'd never worked on Corrie, I'd want exactly the same thing. And it wouldn't be just the fans, either. Annie was a hugely popular cast member and it was important to me that our colleagues on the show also felt I was doing this iconic character justice. So too her husband David and all her friends and family who thought so much of this wonderful woman and the character she so brilliantly portrayed.
No pressure there, then.
A few years back, I wrote Deirdre's mother Blanche's funeral episode after the sad passing of actress Maggie Jones. In that episode, I wrote for Annie - as Deirdre - a eulogy for her mother which I'm relieved to say was incredibly well received, mainly because Annie delivered it so perfectly.
Now I had to do the same for Bill Roache as Ken, as he delivered a eulogy to his wife, taken from him far too early. Bill and Annie were incredibly close colleagues for 42 years, an on-screen husband and wife for many of them. How to fit all that history into a eulogy lasting a few minutes on screen?
And how would daughter Tracy react? A woman who has literally got away with murder and been the bane of many street residents' lives for years. Would the ice queen finally crack? And what of grandchildren Amy and Simon? Her best friends Liz and Eileen? Surrogate mum Emily? The wider community?
Another quandary when actors die unexpectedly is that we write scripts many months before transmission. The public knew Annie was dead. But on screen, in episodes written long before this shocking news, Deirdre was staying at her friend Bev's, a story we had used to cover Deirdre's absence on the show when Annie had been taken ill. Now she would never come back. The only task left was to give Deirdre a funeral with all the emotion and - this being Corrie, the humour - this iconic TV legend deserved.
One key when writing these episodes was Tracy. Deirdre was pretty much the only person who always forgave Tracy - the one person Tracy could turn to when she had alienated everybody else. How would this self-absorbed, callous character react when her lone supporter had gone?
The answer came, strangely through a song. When I was deciding which songs Deirdre would have at her funeral I spent an afternoon listening to many. And when I put on 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and heard the lines 'I'm on your side, when times get rough. And friends just can't be found…' I knew I had a wonderful scene. Tracy, weeping, staring at her mum's photo on her coffin, as the congregation sang these magically apt words which summed up Deirdre's unfaltering support of her daughter.
Then there was the humour. During Blanche's memorable time on the show, she famously used to go to strangers' funerals with her cohorts from the one o'clock club. It was one of her hobbies. At Blanche's funeral, the one o'clock club tipped up - led magnificently by June Whitfield - and provided some excellent light relief.
Why not have a gaggle of these old dears turn up at Deirdre's funeral too, in memory of Blanche and out of respect for her daughter? And why not cast a real choir as the one o'clock club members, so the songs would really raise the roof of the beautiful church we were going to shoot in?
For the rest, I'm afraid you'll have to watch the episodes. Us writers like to hold a few surprises back.
Coincidentally, we shot Deirdre's funeral scenes either side of the weekend of Annie's memorial in Manchester Cathedral. An emotional time then for cast and crew, these last couple of weeks, as they said goodbye to both Deirdre the character, and Annie their beloved colleague. So when you see the on-screen tears and emotion from cast members when Ken says his final goodbyes to Deirdre in these upcoming episodes, you can be assured of one thing - it won't all be acting.
Coronation Street begins Deirdre's exit storyline on Wednesday, July 8 at 7.30pm on ITV.